Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Ghostwriting

As both an author and as a reader, I have to
say that I have a low opinion of ghostwriting. Whatever its intent, I
feel it is a dishonest practice. When I was little, I read Babysitters’
Club, Goosebumps, and Sweet Valley. I enjoyed these books, and thought
at the time, that these were actually written by the person whose name
was on the cover of these books. It was not until years later that I
learned that these books were farmed out to various people who would
churn out these titles month after month. (I did wonder how Francine
Pascal was able to write so many series of Sweet Valley books – at least
four monthlies that I know of/remember, plus various specials.

It’s
not the worst thing to happen in this world, to be certain, but when I
was little, I honestly believed that the authors who had created these
universes wrote these stories themselves, and to discover that these
books were done by basically anonymous authors in need of a few bucks.

Recently
I obtained two books by the author Vince Flynn from my nearest Little
Free Library. I really enjoyed both books (military/government
thrillers) so I decided to go online and do a bit of research. To my
dismay, I found that he had died a couple of years ago from cancer. He
was relatively young, and he had a lot of talent and a knack for
storytelling.

I was saddened to discover that his books are being
continued through a ghostwriter. It doesn’t matter how much a
ghostwriter studies an author, NO ONE can ever imitate an author. Some
can try, some might get close, but no one is perfectly imitable. I still
plan to read more Vince Flynn books because I enjoyed his work and
stories, but I have no interest in reading the ghostwritten books.

It’s
one thing if an author dies with an unfinished book, and someone else
finishes that book with whatever the author was able to finish, plus any
notes he may have left for the unfinished part. Even then, I feel that
such books need to come with a disclaimer, in a foreword or some such,
explaining that the book was completed by someone else due to the true
author’s demise. After that, an author’s works and name need to be
frankly, left the fuck alone.

Unfortunately, thanks to greedy,
unscrupulous publishers, agents, and/or family members, some authors
can’t count on their name and dignity being respected after their death.
One prime example is V.C. Andrews, author of Flowers in the Attic. At
the time of her death, she had seven published novels, plus several
others that had been written, but not picked up by a publisher. The IRS
declared that her name was a valuable asset that could be taxed, and her
family went to town on it, hiring a ghostwriter who has since then
written over 70 books under her name. In the beginning, he did a decent
job, and was able to complete the few manuscripts she had left
uncompleted, but after that, her notes and material ran out, and the
books he has been writing have gotten steadily worse and worse, with
cliched plots, nonsensical stories, repetitive phrases, and an overall
lack of effort.

He’s written more books under V.C.’s name than his
own, because he is a lackluster author in his own right, and he knows
that if he publishes his own stories under the VCA name, he is
guaranteed more profit and readers than if he put his own name on his
stories, just because of the weight that VCA’s name carries (and the
poor woman has been dead for almost 30 years!)

Despite the
suckiness of his recent books, books under her name continue to sell
because of the fame and success she earned with the books she wrote
under her own name (although older books sell better than more recent
ones, which are received more negatively) To this day, many people still
believe that the original V.C. Andrews is still alive and writing, and
the publishers even push this illusion by putting on the blurh “from the
bestselling author of Flowers in the Attic” on recent books.
I
can’t imagine anyone ever using my name for things they write. I don’t
care about their skill level; if they’re confident that they can do a
good job, they should also have the confidence that they can be
successful under their own name (whether it be their birth name, or a
pen name)

As for authors who are alive, and allow others to write
under their name, I can’t say that I have much, if any respect for them.
I wouldn’t be bothered if a series had the name of the individual who
actually wrote it somewhere in the book (and not in a spot where they
would try to hide it) so that readers would know exactly who wrote said
book, and how many different authors there are for any series. When you
look at a TV show, you have writers for each episode, and you can find
their information in the credits. A book shouldn’t be any different.

I
certainly don’t want anything that’s not mine, to be credited to my
name, especially if that work is lackluster and shoddy. The sad example
of V.C. Andrews, among others, should give authors pause in how they
want their legacy to be handled after their deaths. I have stated
before, and I will state again publicly, that I never have, nor will I
ever, give anyone permission to write under my name in case I become ill
or die. I would never want to leave behind a legacy that could be
tarnished by someone else, especial in the name of profit. Anyone who
wants to write, needs to stand on their own feet instead of mooching off
someone else’s name and hard work.